The second session of 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body, will begin on March 3 and run until March 12, two days shorter than previous sessions that

Economic issues and people's livelihood are likely to be the main topics of discussion, reflecting the difficult situation facing China as the government takes measures to combat the economic downturn.

The session will include five plenary meetings and two media conferences. One of the media conferences will focus on quality growth of China's economy, and the other on the Shanghai World Expo to be held in May next year.

This year's CPPCC session is likely to draw particular attention from media at home and abroad, curious about how badly China has been hit in the financial crisis, and how effective the government's 4 trillion yuan stimulus package will be.

Approximately 1,700 domestic journalists and 1,000 foreign journalists, as well as journalists from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are expected to report the annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) which start on March 5 and March 3 respectively.

A Press Conference for the Second Session of the 11th CPPCC National Committee will be held at the Press Conference Hall of the Great Hall of the People at 15:00 p.m. on March 2, 2009. Zhao Qizheng, former minister of the State Council Information Office, is spokesperson for the Session and will be present to answer questions from the media.

(China.org.cn by He Shan, March 2, 2009)